Boys & Girls Clubs of Dane County: Looking for Volunteer Mentors for Next Step Fridays

Next Step Fridays is a partnership between MMSD GED Option #2 Program and the Boys & Girls Clubs of Dane County, that engages high school students with community partners to develop a College, Career, and Community Ready (CCCR) portfolio that will help students identify what their next steps will be after they graduate. The main goals of the portfolio will be to:

• Develop soft skills, with a focus on being college, career, and community ready
• Connect with a mentor that enables the student to go deeper into their CCCR interests, answering “where am I going?” and “how will I get there?”
• Create an post-graduation action plan with specific goals for the next step of their life plan, including financial plan and housing plan

We are looking for volunteers to mentor and coach our high school students so that they can reach their full potential as productive, responsible, and caring adults.  

Dates:   Fridays, October 13 – November 17

Time:     11 AM – 2 PM

Location: 3rd Floor, Lapham Elementary School, 1045 E Dayton St.

Schedule

Week 1: Speed mentoring

Wks 2-6: Create CCCR Portfolio with mentor

– Where am I going? – Goal setting

– Resume/cover letter

– Professional email address, sending professional emails, setting up

your phone and voicemail

– How will I get there?

– How to get specific job training, job skills, certificates, etc

– Job search workshop/Interview skills/mock interviews

– Job shadows

– Credit score, financial plan and housing plan

Week 7: CCCR Portfolio mentor speed feedback round

Week 8: Finalize Next Step Action Plan

If you are interest in becoming a mentor, please complete this short interest form: https://bgcdc.formstack.com/forms/next_step_fridays_mentor_interest

Victoria Thayer, CPA from Novii CPA Selected to Attend AICPA’s 2023 Leadership Academy

Victoria Thayer, CPA was one of only 36 CPAs honored by the American Institute of CPAs (AICPA) as a member of the Leadership Academy’s 15th graduating class. Victoria was selected based on her exceptional leadership skills and professional experience for the four-day Leadership Academy program, which will be held December 11th – 14th.

Victoria is the founder of Novii CPA, a local downtown Madison firm, that currently has 5 employees and continues to grow in the Madison Community. Victoria was the recipient of the 2023 WICPA Young Professional Excellence Award for her professional achievements. She is a board member of  Madison Reading Project, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Dane County’s Finance Committee and part of the Advisory Committee for WWBIC.

The AICPA Leadership Academy was designed to strengthen and expand the leadership skills of promising young professionals while they network with a peer group of talented and motivated CPAs.

The Leadership Academy features career-development workshops and sessions with some of the accounting profession’s most prominent influencers. Participants were selected from public accounting firms of all sizes, business and industry, government, and consulting firms.

The 2023 Leadership Academy attendees were recommended by their employers, state CPA societies, and/or volunteer organizations. Candidates submitted resumes and a statement explaining how participating in the Leadership Academy would impact them personally and professionally.

To date, more than 480 CPAs have participated in the AICPA Leadership Academy, many of whom have gone on to take on leadership positions in their firms, businesses, and volunteer organizations.

For more information about the AICPA Leadership Academy, visit AICPA.org/Leadership.

StartingBlock Madison: Meet the Madworks Fall 2023 Cohort!

We’re thrilled to introduce the 8 companies in this Fall’s Madworks Cohort. The Madworks Accelerator is a 11-week program, comprising tailored mentorship and building governance acumen. The program is industry agnostic. In addition to connecting companies to entrepreneurial leaders in the community, we ensure that these organizations obtain a foundation in legal compliance, quality board management skills, and financial knowledge.

Meet The Companies

• 1Director / Rianne Lund – All-inclusive software suite for funeral homes to manage their business and allow families to make funeral arrangements from the comfort of their own home.
• Figgy / Rachel Neill & Chris Roepe – Creators of kids play couches that are fun, high quality, safe, and sustainable.
• NOVII CPA / Victoria Thayer – Outsourced accounting solutions, financial preparation services, tax planning and tax preparation, and CFO services.
• Petphoria / Grace Wang – Modern lifestyle brand for pets and their people. Offering a wide variety of premium products for your pet – from delicious dog treats to trendy dog toys.
• Redfox AI / Nick Myers – Voice-activated AI that verbally facilitates and troubleshoots home diagnostics and medical devices helping manufacturers and providers be there at the point of care.
• Soul Mobility / Troy Tesmer – Mobility solutions for the physically challenged to support their independence and well being. The initial product, Power-Flex, wil convert a manual wheelchair to a power chair quickly and with no tools.
• Snow Scholars / Jake Piekarski – Affordable and personable residential snow removal company that employs college students at several college towns throughout the Midwest.
• Spraycision / Dervis Gursoy – Designs and manufactures advanced level sensor systems for orchard sprayers that automatically control nozzles to reduce the chemicals, fuel and water usage and to provide eco-friendly solutions in spray applications.

PROGRAM BENEFITS

• Access to over $1M in prizes and benefits
• $6,500 in grant funding per participating team
• 1 year membership to StartingBlock (24×7 access), with an exclusive space at StartingBlock dedicated to Madworks companies
• Access to StartingBlock member benefits, including 90% discount on Hubspot CRM
• Regular access to Madworks & StartingBlock staff and connections to their network of mentors and experts

Wegner CPAs Announces Two New Partners

Wegner CPAs is pleased to announce the appointment of Dan Bergs, CPA and Mitch Davis, CPA as the newest partners of the firm effective October 1, 2023 

Bergs joined Wegner CPAs as an intern in 2008 and started full-time after graduation in 2010. Since then, Bergs has grown in the Firm’s tax and business services department. He specializes in working individual and business clients providing them with a variety of tax and accounting services. Dan annually attends educational seminars to continue his professional development. 

Davis received his Master of Accountancy in 2011 and his CPA license in 2012. He has over ten years of experience working with a number of different tax-exempt organizations and specializes in performing financial statement and compliance audits and preparing tax returns for a variety of non-profit organizations. He is also a technical reviewer for nonprofit tax returns for the Wegner office in Milwaukee. 

“Both Dan and Mitch have demonstrated a commitment to our Firm, our staff, and our clients over their tenure with Wegner… I know they will continue to do great things for many years to come!” stated Glenn Miller, CPA, CGMA, Managing Partner. 

Please join us in welcoming Dan and Mitch as our newest partners and congratulating them on their accomplishments. 

About Wegner CPAs 

With offices in Baraboo, Janesville, Madison, Milwaukee, Reedsburg, New York, NY, and Washington, D.C., Wegner CPAs brings a unique perspective to the practice of accounting and business consulting. The firm specializes in closely held businesses, contractors, cooperatives, manufacturers, nonprofit organizations, and pharmacies with a complete range of accounting, audit, tax, and consulting services across the lifecycle of the organization. For more information, visit http://www.wegnercpas.com.

WPS Charitable Foundation donates to Stand Down Madison

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact:
DeAnne Boegli
Vice President of Communications
608-512-5754
deanne.boegli@wpsic.com

WPS Charitable Foundation donates to Stand Down Madison
Main fundraising event is Oct. 21

MADISON, Wis.—Sept. 25, 2023—On Sept. 22, the WPS Charitable Foundation presented a $5,000 check to Wayne D. Horner Memorial Stand Down Madison, a local organization that provides relief to veterans experiencing homelessness.

Vice President of Communications DeAnne Boegli and Charitable Foundation Program Administrator Amy Callender awarded the check to Angie Nickels, President of Stand Down Madison, and other Stand Down Madison representatives.

“At WPS, we seek to support organizations that share our mission of helping veterans get needed health care,” Boegli said. “Stand Down Madison’s holistic care of veterans experiencing homelessness is an effort we are proud to support.”

The Stand Down Madison fundraising main event is Oct. 21, and the organization still needs about 100 volunteers for the event. Vendors can register online at standdownmadison.org/become-a-vendor. Volunteers can sign up to help at standdownmadison.org/volunteer.

About the WPS Charitable Foundation

The WPS Charitable Foundation was formed in 1986 to honor WPS’ first president, Ray Koenig. The Foundation is a nonprofit charitable organization that focuses on enhancing the communities we call home by supporting organizations focused on health and wellness, especially of women and children, seniors, military and veterans, and underserved populations. The Foundation also funds the Ray Koenig Memorial Scholarship program. Each year, the program makes educational opportunities available through scholarship awards to children of employees of WPS Health Solutions and its subsidiaries.

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